Juvenile Widow skimmer dragonfly

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

Indian corn closeup

iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode, Snapseed app border

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Alstroemeria (Peruvian lilies)

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Eastern tiger swallowtail on Vervain

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, f/13, ISO 400

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Stack ‘o butterflies

I think the top and bottom ones might be Clouded Sulphurs, middle one is a Variegated Fritillary; feasting on Purple coneflowers (with purple Lantana in the background)

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, f/14, ISO 400

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Honeybees on white asters

Honeybees on white asters (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Tryst on Celosia

I believe this is a pair of Margined Leatherwings (a type of soldier beetle) engaged in a tryst on a spire type Celosia. (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bumblebees on Mexican sunflower

Table for two! Tiny bumblebees feasting on a Blanket flower (Gaillardia)

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, f/14

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Tulips

Tulips (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Wood anemone

Wood anemone (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Sharing Brian Loflin’s feature article in Bird Watcher’s Digest

Fellow photographers (especially the bird-loving ones), just wanted to share my former boss / mentor / lifelong friend Brian Loflin’s latest project—a feature article in the current issue of Bird Watcher’s Digest highlighting South Texas photography ranches and bird photography. Brian writes, “These photography ranches earn a secondary revenue stream from this type of activity instead of / in addition to the traditional consumptive activity of hunting. In my wildlife photography course, I try to instill the benefit of participation in, support of and aid in building these activities.”

You can check out Brian’s photography and learn more about this wildlife photography workshops here.

I hope you enjoy the article, which begins on page 58 of the pdf. Click here to download: Loflin-birdwatchersdigestJul-2019

In the studio: Maria

Maria Keffler was my first official portrait session in our first month (May) in the new shared studio space (with my friend and photographer Michael Powell).

Maria is a published author and a very talented fiber artist/pattern maker as well. Read more about her here. Purchase her books on Amazon here. She also sells crochet and knit patterns, and several of the pieces she is wearing in the photos below were designed and created by her. You can purchase her designs on Ravelry here. Find her on her Maria Keffler Books Facebook page here.

Michael and I are subleasing with another creative on a six-month basis. The price was right for a short-term commitment (and shared with Michael, for whom I am extremely grateful for helping make it happen) and I hope to shoot many more sessions during this time—and possibly be able to continue the experiment! It’s the first time I’ve had a studio space outside the house.

I’ll be announcing some studio portrait specials soon, so stand by! Visit Michael’s blog here to see his wonderful wildlife photography as well as educational and amusing narratives.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

White Bleeding heart

White Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’)–this is the first time I’ve seen this flower in white!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro

Iris versicolor

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

 

Peonies

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

 

Blooming in my garden: Bearded iris ‘Bewilderbeast’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

Siberian iris ‘Blue Moon’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Tulips

Tulips in my garden (Nikon D850 with the 105mm micro lens)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’ (also known as Spring Beauty Scilla, Wood Squill or Siberian Squill) Photographed with an iPhone 8Plus using the Camera+ 2 app in macro mode

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Camellia japonica ‘Jerry Hill’

Jerry Hill Camellia (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

White Prickly Poppy

White Prickly Poppy (Argemone albiflora spp. texana) is also known as the bluestem prickly poppy or the Texas prickly poppy.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus with Camera+2 app in macro mode)

Altamira Oriole

Spent a wonderful afternoon at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX with my high school friend, Vanessa. I was using my Nikon D850 for macro shots, my iPhone for overall shots, and my Nikon Coolpix P1000 for bird shots. There is such diversity of wildlife in this sanctuary that is adjacent to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. I wanted to see this sanctuary before “the wall” cuts through the middle of it. I talked at length with an employee of the center and learned quite a bit about the issues related to the wall, as well as the myriad water and environmental laws that are being circumvented for this project.

This is an Altamira Oriole, just one of the many unusual birds we saw this afternoon.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: ‘Flame of Jamaica’

‘Flame of Jamaica’ (Euphorbia punicea), from the Spurge family (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Live oak tree with Tillandsia air plants

Photographed at Mission San José in San Antonio, Texas

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

FREE MINI-MAG! Photography in the Garden

In this mini-magazine, I share my tips and tricks for photographing your garden in its best light, whether you’re shooting with a DSLR, point-n-shoot, or smartphone. You’ll learn about composition, harnessing the light, photographic resources, and what’s in my bag. Photographing gardens and the natural world has been enormously rewarding for me. Below are some sample pages from the mini-magazine.

Read your manual, shoot regularly, learn how to process your digital images and above all else, always stay curious!

Click here: Cindy Dyer Garden Photography

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Ginkgo leaves

Ginkgo leaves at Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, VA (I was trying out my new toy–a Nikon Coolpix P1000 with a 24mm-3000mm zoom!)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Ginkgo canopy

Ginkgo grove at the Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum in Boyce, VA

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus, Snapseed app border)

 

iPhoneography: Gingko leaves

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus)

Ghost fish in the sky

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. 

Indian Creek Canal koi

When I was driving en route home from San Antonio back to Virginia in early August, I stopped to visit my friends Sue and Steve in Huntsville, AL. Sue took me back to the Indian Creek Canal to shoot some photos of the beautiful koi with my iPhone 8Plus. I went a little crazy, running back and forth to capture these images (especially following the beautiful gold koi)!

The canal was the first one in Alabama, incorporated in 1820 and completed in 1931. It was constructed to the Tennessee River to facilitate the transportation of cotton to market. Developers were Thomas Fearn, LeRoy Pope, Stephen S. Ewing, Henry Cook, and Samuel Hazard.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.